Archie, a Chinese Crested dog, sits with his tongue out before the start of the 20th Annual Ugliest Dog Competition at the Sonoma-Marin Fair June 20, 2008 in Petaluma, California. Owners of ugly dogs travel to Petaluma from all over the country to participate in the annual contest. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.

Competitors prepare backstage before the 2015 Brazil Miss and Mister Fitness contest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 18, 2015. Some 96 men and women from all across the country competed in the event. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

Spot, a robot with dog-like movements, walks past a dog in Cathedral Square in Erfurt, Germany on April 20, 2021. Security service provider Ciborius, a provider of robotic security solutions with artificial intelligence, presented its artificial employee with high-resolution 360-degree all-round camera, ultra-bright LED light and a light detection system on Domplatz. (Photo by Michael Reichel/dpa)

Female soldiers of Tigray Defence Force (TDF) celebrate while they sit on men's shoulders as people celebrate their return on a street in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 29, 2021. Rebel fighters in Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray seized control of more territory on June 29, 2021, one day after retaking the local capital and vowing to drive all “enemies” out of the region. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

A giant classic Hindu Ramayana statue dons a face mask to remind passengers to keep to coronavirus precautions at the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has ordered a halt to all domestic flights operating from the most severely affected provinces effective Wednesday. Exceptions are allowed for flights to destinations that are part of a plan that allows vaccinated travelers from abroad to stay for two weeks on popular islands such as Phuket and Samui without quarantine confinement. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

Triplet sisters Natalia, Irina and Tatiana Mironenko attend a rehearsal while preparing for examination performances staged by the graduates of the folk dance faculty of the Krasnoyarsk choreographic college in Krasnoyarsk, Russia May 13, 2019. All three 19-year-old sisters are expected to join the renowned Krasnoyarsk state academic dance ensemble of Siberia after the graduation. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Tibetan monks in ghoulish costumes perform during a ceremony to chase away the “demon king” to bring peace and happiness for the Tibetan New Year at the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing, Sunday, February 19, 2023. The annual event has returned after China lifted all bans on public gatherings from the outbreak of COVID-19. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)